On July 8, 2024 Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp. (NASDAQ: PHIO), a clinical stage biotechnology company whose proprietary INTASYL siRNA gene silencing technology is designed to make immune cells more effective in killing tumor cells, reported the addition of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) Department of Dermatology in Pittsburgh, PA as a clinical trial site for its lead product candidate, PH-762 (Press release, Phio Pharmaceuticals, JUL 8, 2024, View Source [SID1234644721]).
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The Phase 1b study recently received a positive safety recommendation from the Safety Monitoring Committee to escalate the dose in the next phase of the study. The clinical trial is currently enrolling patients for the 2nd cohort.
The UPMC Department of Dermatology joins four other sites engaged in the clinical study: The George Washington University-Medical Faculty Associates in Washington, D.C; Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Arizona; Integrity Research Clinical Associates in Delray Beach, Florida; and Centricity Research in Dublin Ohio.
"We are excited to conduct our study with these five clinical sites, all of whom have a very keen interest in immuno-oncology and are leading centers in skin cancer," said Robert Bitterman, CEO of Phio Pharmaceuticals.
PH-762 is an INTASYL compound that silences PD-1, a protein that inhibits T cells’ ability to kill cancer cells. The Phase 1b trial is a non-comparative study of neoadjuvant monotherapy using PH-762 in adult patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, or Merkel cell carcinoma. The study is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of neoadjuvant use of intratumorally injected PH-762, assess the tumor response, and determine the dose or dose range for continued study of PH-762 in patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, melanoma, or Merkel cell carcinoma.
More information about this clinical trial is available at clinicaltrials.gov (identifier: NCT06014086).